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Do You Smell That? People suffering from Olfactory Reference Syndrome (ORS) are overwhelmingly preoccupied with the false belief that they are giving off an offensive body odor (BO) and will be perceived negatively because of it. ORS is often accompanied by depression, shame, anxiety, and embarrassment. Avoidance of social situations, school, or work is very common. ORS is under recognized

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) What is DBT? DBT is a scientifically supported treatment based on a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and Eastern meditation techniques. It was developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan to initially help individuals with suicidal thoughts/behaviors and self injury but has expanded to include a number of other conditions including eating disorders, substance use, depression, and impulsive

Jake is a 16 year old male who sought treatment due to significant interference in his life from symptoms of OCD. Jake’s compulsions occurred mostly when he was reading but would occur also in conversation and when listening to someone else speak. He would feel the need to count the amount of vowels in a given word or sentence. At times he

Sandra is a twenty-three-year-old college student who believes she has blemishes that make her very unattractive; she also despises her curly hair and “droopy” eyes. A few years ago, she began college at an out-of-state university. Throughout her first semester, she began to attend classes less and less and found it difficult to socialize with others in her dorm or

Dealing with Childhood Separation Anxiety By: Tara Cuskley Aside from cereal and showers, are crying, tantrums, stomachaches, or headaches a normal part of your child’s routine before leaving for school in the morning? If so, it could be an indication of a clinical Separation Anxiety Disorder. But how do you distinguish normal, age appropriate fears of separation from a clinical disorder? Normal

TIPS FOR LEARNING MINDFULNESS MEDITATION By: Nicole Lippman Mindfulness has exploded in its popularity over the past decade both in psychological research and in the media. It seems that everyone is talking about how mindfulness can be useful in our every day lives to help us decrease anxiety and stress and increase mental flexibility and happiness. The term mindfulness is defined

George, a lawyer, living with his wife and two children, had always been a health conscious person but had never experienced any major health concerns. A particularly stressful bout at work, however, brought on headaches and abdominal pain. Though he was reassured by doctors that these were stress-related, George became worried, over time, that these symptoms signaled the onset of

Cross Cultural Aspects of BDD By: Fugen Neziroglu, PhD and Nicole Lippman, PhD Concerns about appearance are not only commonplace in the United States, but are also present in other cultures around the world. The perception and value placed on beauty is subjective, but common culture-specific notions of physical attractiveness exist. Across many cultures, body dysmorphic disorder contains similar clinical

A Proposed Learning Model of Body Dysmorphic Disorder Fugen Neziroglu and Lauren M. Mancusi Bio-Behavioral Institute, Great Neck, NY USA 1. Introduction While it is common for individuals to have concerns about their appearance, individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) experience a marked distress that often results in time-consuming rituals, social anxiety, and depression among other debilitating effects. Body dysmorphic